Golf club joint



May 10, 1938.

A. KRAEUTER GOLF CLUB JOINT Original Filed Dec. 28, 1928 z 2 M INVENTOR BY Y A 'WATTOMEY Patented May 10, 1938 GOLF CLUB JOINT Arthur A. Kraeuter, South Orange, N. J., assignor to The Kroydon Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application December 28, 1928, Serial No. 328,927 Renewed July 29, 1937 4 Claims.

This invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly to clubs having metallic or other fabricated material handle shafts in which are used continuously tapering shafts secured to a 5 head having an integral hosel.

It has for its objects the construction of a golf club having all of the necessary resilient and other characteristics. of previously constructed clubs having wooden handle shafts and yet retaining all of the desirable features obtainable with the use of metallic or other fabricated material shafts without the undesirable features of well known wooden shafts which are likely to warp, check, crack, be susceptible to uneven flexibility and other undesirable features due to atmospheric conditions or from those beyond the control of the user.

It is another object of this invention to arrange a golf club having a head and hosel of the same configuration but provided with a sleeve portion for connecting the hosel and shaft in such a way that no uneven joints result and that the metallic fabricated or other shaft will be reenforced and provide the necessary rigidity in the same manner as would be supplied by the customary wooden shaft. In addition to these advantages it is possible with a fabricated shaft to control the proper weight, resiliency and balance of the club so that it Will maintain this balance regardless of the presence or absence of moisture and independent of the strength requirements.

Another object is to simplify the construction of a golf club utilizing a metal or fabricated shaft in which the necessary reenforcing is provided in the shaft without rendering the club construction more difficult by utilizing aspecial or intricate metal working operation which is needed to form a hollow metal shaft of the same configuration as the previously used wooden one.

Another object is to provide a construction of club in which a hollow metal or other fabricated material shaft, having a continuous and uninterrupted taper, may be used.

Another object is to simplify the constructtion of a golf club head which is utilized in con nection with a straight continuously tapering shaft.

Further and more definite objects will appear in connection with the following detailed specification, claims, and drawing in which:-

Fig. 1 shows a golf club embodying the features of my invention;

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged sectional detailed view of a golf club with the handle partially separated from the head; and

Fig. 3 shows a similar cross section of a form of construction of golf club embodying my invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the golf club I is constructed with a tubular metal shaft 2, preferably of steel, fitting through a sleeve 3 and into the hosel 4 of the head 5. These parts are rigidly secured together by means of a pin, rivet, or other device 6. The general contour of this club is precisely the same as that of a previously used club having a wooden shaft or handle. However the handle 2 may be composed of tubular metal having a continuous taper so arranged that it may be easily constructed, either of seamed or seamless tubing.

This construction is more clearly shown in Fig. 2 wherein the shaft 2 is shown as a tubular element of continuously tapering contour, being larger at its outer end and smaller at its inner end. This type of tubing readily adapts itself for construction by rolling a strip of sheet metal into the form of a tubing so that the seam may be joined by welding or otherwise and a rigid tubing results.

The head 5 may be of the ordinary construction which is commonly utilized in connection with-wooden shafts having a hosel portion 4 of outwardly flaring configuration. In order to permit the use of the tapering tubular handle 2 a sleeve 3 is secured thereto which fits a portion of the tubing a considerable distance from the end and the end i of the sleeve having a bevel or otherwise for fitting the outer end of the hosel 4. The lower end of the hosel is provided with a hole 8 which will fit closely to the end of the handle 2 so that the handle may be supported at its end and also an appreciable distance away from the end. The adapter 3 may be arranged to fit tightly upon the shaft 2 or may be welded at 9 as indicated ormay be sweated, brazed, soldered or secured in any suitable way so as to form an integral and securely attached reenforcing portion. The outer surface then may be finished or polished in any manner desired so as to give an appearance of a continuous solid handle piece. It is often necessary when a welding operation is done to heat treat all of the parts adjacent the weld so as to prevent unnecessary 50 weaknesses from stresses set up in the metal during the welding operation. This can be readily done with this arrangement without subjecting portions of the head to this heat, by heat treating the handle as a whole together with the sleeve 3. 5 5

When the parts are then properly treated and finished off they may be inserted within the hosel 4 of the handle 5 and secured thereto by the customary manner, indicated by means of rivets or otherwise.

Vfhere greater weight is necessary in the construction of golf clubs the parts indicated in Fig. 2 may be constructed of solid material or portions may be cut away therefrom. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 3 where the hosel I is constructed of solid material having an opening H into which the shaft i2 is fitted. A sleeve 13 fits closely to this shaft and may be welded thereto as at I 4. The sleeve and hosel have interfitting portions l5 and i6 respectively so as to render the joints more firm and less likely to undesirable movements. These parts may be threaded or otherwise secured as indicated in connection With Fig. 2. However it has been found sufficient to merely secure the parts by riveting through the holes I1 and I8, as previously indicated. The sleeve l3 might be utilized in connection with a hollow hosel, as indicated at 4 in Fig. 2, or the hosel It! might be used in connection with a hollow sleeve 3 having the proper interfitting surface. By these constructions various degrees of rigidity and resilience might be provided and the balance of the club arranged in any way which would render it more easily used.

It is thus apparent, that with the end of the handle inserted in the recess portion at the bottom of the ferrule 4 and rigidly supported at the upper end of the downward flaring portion and prevented from removal therefrom by means of the pin or rivet, the handle will be rigidly reenforced, providing the necessary rigidity and also permitting flexibility corresponding to that produced by previously utilized wooden handles. It also permits the use of a continuously tapered shaft which may be readily manufactured or carried in stock without machining or otherwise constructing complicated and difiicult formations thereon. Also with the solid construction of Fig. 3 slight variations may be made from that of Fig. 2.

The advantage of this construction lies in the fact that the reenforcing takes place in the necessary location so that continuously tapering handle portions will have the same resilient characteristics as those of a handle having special enlargements or reduced portions.

According to the construction of Fig. 2 a standard form of golf club head previously used in connection with wooden shafts and carried in stock for that purpose may be used for shafts of steel or other fabricated material without complicated machine operations or difiicult modifications thereof. The conformation of the head of Fig. 3 is also substantially the same shape except that the inner bore of the hosel Ill may be slightly modified to suit the use in connectionwith a fabricated form of shaft. It is thus apparent that a simple and effective arrangement is provided for utilizing a metallic or fabricated form of shaft handle for use in connection with a golf club and that with such construction all of the resiliency and characteristics are retained without the difiiculties encountered in the use of wooden shafts. It is not intended to be limited to the exact modifications shown but slight deviations, variations of the principles embodied herein, might be utilized without departing from the spirit and the scope herein set forth.

It will be observed that the exterior surface of the portions 3 and I3 is a curved concaved surface. The presence of this curvature causes the flexibility of the shaft to be graduated and distributed so as to give the desired flexibility and feel of the club, and this may be varied by varying the concave curvature.

It will be observed that the abutting surfaces of the hosel I0 and the sleeve 13 may slide upon each other when the shaft twists incidental to the striking of the ball. The sleeve I3 thus acts as a re-enforcement against longitudinal flexing of the shaft but without stiffening or re-enforcing the shaft against torsional fiexure, this last flexure being desirable to cushion the hands of the player against the torsional effect of the impact of the ball with the head, while the reenforcement of the shaft against longitudinal flexing by the sleeve I3 is desirable as graduating the longitudinal fiexure at that location.

I desire to be limited only to the extent indicated in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a golf club, the combination with a metal head provided with a hosel having a socket therein, of a metal shaft fitting and fixedly secured within said socket in said hosel metal to metal, and an upwardly tapered metal sleeve immovably fixed upon said shaft metal to metal with its lower end in spaced relation to the lower end of the shaft and in supporting abutting engagement with the hosel, the abutting surfaces of the hosel and sleeve being of substantial extent radially, said sleeve lying entirely outside of the socket in said hosel and said abutting surfaces of said hosel and sleeve being slidable upon each other.

2. In a golf club, the combination with a metal head provided with a hosel having a socket therein, of a metal shaft fitting and fixedly secured within said socket in said hosel metal to metal, and an upwardly tapered metal sleeve immovably fixed upon said shaft metal to metal with its lower end in spaced relation to the lower end of the shaft and in supporting abutting engagement with the hosel, the abutting surfaces of the hosel and sleeve being of substantial .extent radially, said sleeve lying entirely outside of the socket in said hosel, the abutting surfaces of the sleeve and the hosel being in transverse planes longitudinally spaced along the axis of said shaft and said abutting surfaces of said hosel and sleeve being slidable upon each other.

3. In a golf club the combination with a metal head provided with a hosel having a socket therein, of a metal shaft fitting and fixedly secured within said socket metal-to-metal and a sleeve arranged on and fixedly secured to said shaft with its lower end in spaced relation to the lower end of the shaft and in supporting abutting relation to the hosel, the abutting surfaces of the hosel and sleeve being of substantial extent radially, said sleeve lying entirely outside of the socket in said hosel and the abutting surfaces of the hosel and sleeve being slidable upon each other.

4. In a golf club, the combination with a metal head provided with a hosel having a socket therein, of a metal shaft fitting and fixedly secured within said socket metal-to-metal and a sleeve arranged on and fixedly secured to said shaft with its lower end in spaced relation to the lower end of the shaft and in supporting abutting relation to the hosel, the abutting surfaces of the hosel and sleeve being of substantial extent radially and slidable upon each other.

ARTHUR A. KRAEU'I'ER. 

